BAYFIELD – The inside track to an assured playoff spot slipped out of the Bayfield High School football team’s hands Friday, much like the ball.
BHS fumbled the ball four times, part of a six-turnover night, in a 47-13 loss to Montezuma-Cortez at Wolverine Country Stadium.
Cortez (5-2, 2-1 Wester Slope South League) converted three of those turnovers into points in a dominant second half where they outscored the Wolverines 27-0 to grab a hold of second place in the league and the automatic playoff berth that comes with it.
“The turnovers are monumental,” BHS head coach Gary Heide said. “When you face a big, physical team like that, you cannot play on a short field, and you cannot give them the ball.”
BHS (3-4, 1-2 WSL) was the more physical team on its opening drive.
The Wolverines marched down the field and went up 7-0 on a Zane Phelps touchdown run with 9 minutes, 4 seconds left in the first quarter.
“We went in the game thinking we were going to pound the ball, pound the ball,” BHS senior Colter McMenimen said. “First drive, that’s exactly what we did.”
The Wolverines intercepted the Panthers’ first drive but couldn’t keep a drive alive on fourth down.
Cortez quarterback Johnathan Walck put the Panthers up 14-7 with two short runs.
McMenimen, son of Missy and Todd McMenimen, brought the Wolverines within one point on an 18-yard pass by quarterback Kelton McCoy with 1 minute left in the first half.
“It’s a new play we’ve been working on this last week,” McMenimen said. “It’s designed for the corner to bite in when the wide receiver slants, and it opened up, just like it was supposed to.”
BHS wouldn’t score again after the Wolverines couldn’t convert the extra point to remain down 14-13.
The Panthers’ Andrew Finch pounced on the next play, returning the kickoff 90 yards to the house to take a 20-13 lead into halftime.
Cortez running back Randy Haley announced his presence in the second half with a 76-yard touchdown run on the first play.
BHS fumbled on its first possession, and Haley found the endzone again from two yards out to put Cortez up 34-13.
“When they were only up two touchdowns, I think we had a lot of hope, lot of passion for it,” BHS senior Aubry Brown said. “I think it was once they got up by that third touchdown that we kind of dropped our heads.”
Haley finished with 192 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
“The offensive line was beast mode (Friday night),” Cortez head coach Casey Coulter said. “Randy’s just a great kid, he runs his butt off.”
The loss makes qualifying for the playoffs difficult but not impossible for BHS, which now needs to win its next two games and qualify for the tournament based on wild-card points.
“All you’ve got to do is get into the dance. We’re going to fight,” McMenimen said. “We’re not going to give up. We’re not quitters.”
kgrabowski@ durangoherald.com
